eLearning Advanced Topics
Updating Baselines Overview
Definition: A baseline is a copy of a project that you can compare to the current project to
evaluate progress.
 Purpose: Baselines provide a target against which you can track a project’s cost,
schedule, and resource performance.
 Best Practice: Create a baseline plan before updating the schedule for the first time.
This “initial plan” can be compare to updated progress to indicate if you are behind or
ahead of schedule.
 Baseline functionality in Primavera® enables you to:
o Save an unlimited number of baselines per project.
o Designate one project baseline and up to three user baselines at a time for
comparisons to the current project.
 Note: User baselines cannot be viewed by other P6 users.
o Assign a baseline type to categorize a baseline. Examples include initial
planning, what-if, or mid-project baselines, and scope change. Baseline types
can help you benchmark performance across multiple projects.
How to Create the Initial Baseline
1.
2.
3.
4.
Open the project, go to the Activities window.
Click on the Project menu>Maintain Baselines.
Click on the + Add button.
In the Add New Baseline dialog box, select Save a copy of the current project as a new
baseline. Click OK.
5. Click on the Baseline Name field to edit the name of the new baseline. Press Enter.
6. Click on the Baseline Type drop-down menu. Select a baseline type.
7. Click Close.
Click to add a new
baseline
Add a baseline
name and type
©2015 CPM Solutions Ltd.
Collaborative Project Management | www.cpmsolutions.ca
1|Page
eLearning Advanced Topics
How to View a Baseline on the Gantt Chart
1. Click on the Project menu>Assign Baselines.
2. Click on the Project Baseline drop down menu>Select a baseline.
3. Option: Assign User Baselines (up to three) by clicking on the Primary, Secondary, and
Tertiary baseline drop-down menus>Select a baseline.
4. Click OK.
5. Click on the Layout menu>Bars.
6. In the Bars dialog box, mark the checkbox next to the Project Baseline Bar.
a. Note: You can also mark the checkboxes next to the Primary, Secondary, and
Tertiary baselines. You can also mark the checkboxes next to milestones and
other bars available in P6.
7. Click Apply. Click Close.
The Project Baseline
is seen by all P6 users
Up to 3 User Baselines
can be assigned
Add new bars to
be viewed on the
Gantt Chart
Customize the
display of the bars
©2015 CPM Solutions Ltd.
Collaborative Project Management | www.cpmsolutions.ca
2|Page
eLearning Advanced Topics
How to Update a Baseline
1. Click on the Project menu>Maintain Baselines.
2. Highlight the baseline that you would like to update. Click Copy.
a. Note: You always want to keep a copy of the initial baseline plan. If you want to
update a baseline, make a copy first.
3. Click on the copied baseline name. Rename the baseline.
4. Click on the Baseline Type drop-down menu. Select a baseline type.
5. Click Update. The Update Baseline dialog box will automatically open.
6. In the Update Baselines dialog box:
a. Mark the checkboxes next to specific types of data to include in the updated
baseline.
b. Specify which activities to include in the updated baseline.
i. If you mark the checkbox to Update existing activities already in the
baseline, the Update Options button will become available.
ii. Click on the Update Options button. The Update Baseline Options dialog
box will automatically open.
iii. Mark the checkboxes next to different types of data to specify which
activity data and resource assignment data to update in the new baseline.
iv. Click OK.
c. Mark the checkbox next to Log to file to save a copy of the updated baseline
data. Click on the Browse button to select a location and name for the file.
d. Mark the checkbox next to Run Optimized to optimize baseline update
performance.
e. Click Update.
7. Click OK when the updating process is complete.
8. In the Update Baselines dialog box, click View Log. Click Close.
9. View the updated baseline on the Gantt Chart (see above).
Mark the checkboxes
to indicate which
project data to include
in the updated baseline
When this checkbox is
marked, the Update
Options becomes
available.
Mark the checkboxes
to indicate which
activity data to include
in the updated baseline
©2015 CPM Solutions Ltd.
Collaborative Project Management | www.cpmsolutions.ca
3|Page
eLearning Advanced Topics
Mark the checkboxes
to indicate which
activity data to include
in the updated baseline
Mark the checkboxes
to indicate which
resource/role
assignment data to
include in the updated
baseline
Restoring and Converting a Baseline
Definition: Restoring a baseline is the process of transforming a baseline into a stand-alone
project.
 Purpose: To modify a baseline manually, if necessary.
How to Restore a Baseline
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Click on the Project menu>Maintain Baselines.
Click on the name of the baseline that you would like to restore as a project.
Click Restore.
Click Yes to restore the project as a separate project.
Close the current project.
In the Projects window, find the restored baseline. The restored project will use an
appended project ID and name. Open the project.
7. Manually update the data.
8. Reschedule the project.
9. Close the project.
How to Convert a Project into a Baseline
1. In the Projects window, open the original project (or the project where you would like to
use the baseline).
2. Go to the Activities window.
3. Click on the Project menu>Maintain Baselines.
4. Click + Add.
5. Select Convert another project to a new baseline of the current project. Click OK.
6. The Select Project dialog box will open. Select the baseline project from the EPS. Click
the Add Project icon.
7. The project has been converted into a baseline.
8. View the baseline on the Gantt Chart (See Updating a Baseline Overview).
©2015 CPM Solutions Ltd.
Collaborative Project Management | www.cpmsolutions.ca
4|Page